


Punk’s Not Dead

by Starry__Eyes



Category: Palaye Royale (Band)
Genre: Reincarnation, Sidington theory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2019-11-27 06:27:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18190952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starry__Eyes/pseuds/Starry__Eyes
Summary: Remington feels like he’s seeing things, but maybe it’s more than that.





	1. The King is Gone but is not Forgotten

**Author's Note:**

> All credit for this theory goes to the amazing @longlivevicious on instagram 
> 
> Also I couldn’t deside what touring guitarist to use so I just didn’t mention anyone (if you want to suggest your favorite I will definitely include them in the next chapter)
> 
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!

Remington had already been feeling strange that day. He was tired and felt a little sick and that didn’t go unnoticed by his brothers and band mates. He insisted that he was fine and that he would be fine to play the show that night. 

He took a couple deep breaths before walking out on stage and smiling widely at all the cheering people in the audience. Of course there were a few party poopers who stood with their arms crossed, determined not to have a good time. But all in all, they seemed like a great crowd and that alone brought up Remingtons mood.

They were about six songs into their set when Remingtons illness was coming back to bite him in the ass. It started with the audience, they were getting blurry. And then he started to notice the audience change. In the beginning they were Palayes usual audience of modern teens and young adults, fashion straight out of Hot Topic or the bands own wardrobe. But sometimes, when the lights weren’t directly in his eyes he’d see them differently, a crowd of people with mohawks of various sizes and colors. Outfits that would have been considered “vintage punk” clothes if they weren’t in such good condition. Well, as good of conditions as punk clothes could be.

Remington was beginning to freak out, everything seemed blurry now. He was stumbling and looking around wildly. He stopped singing, they weren’t the right lyrics. It wasn’t the right song. Why was he singing so much? Where was his bass? 

Remington felt himself collapse to the ground and he heard the whole crowd gasp. His bandmates raced to his side but he didn’t recognize them. Sebastian held his head and made Remington look at him. “Remington? Remington, can you hear me?”

“Johnny?” He whispered weakly before completely losing consciousness. 

************************

Remington woke up on a couch in the green room of the venue. He tried to sit up but felt nauseous and dropped down again. Austin rushed over to the couch and dropped down next to Remington. “Holy shit, you’re up. Thank god, we were so worry. We still are, what the fuck happened?” Austin rambled off anxiously.

Remington winced and held his head. “Jesus Austin, slow the fuck down. I don’t even know what happened.” He took a second to compose himself and look around the room. “Where’s everyone else?” 

“They went out to meet the fans and try to calm them down.” Austin explained. Remington groaned and covered his face with his hands. He felt immediately guilty about ending the show so early and worrying people. “Ah come on Rem, don’t feel bad. It’s not your fault.” Austin helped him slowly sit up and got him some water.

Just than the other three walked into the green room. Once they saw Remington was awake they raced over to the couch and bombarded him with questions. He swatted them away but smiled brightly. “Jeez, jeez! I can’t believe I have so many moms!” Everyone chuckled and it relieved some of the tension in the room.

Sebastian and Emerson sat on either side of Remington. “So...” Sebastian started. “What happened over there? Do we need to go to a doctor or something?”

Remington shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I think I’m just sick,” He explained. “While I was on stage, I got really dizzy and I think I started hallucinating.” That got Emerson’s attention, to no ones surprise.

“Look, we have two days off, take a break, stay in bed. We’ll see how you feel and if we can continue the tour, great. If we need to stop, that’s okay too. You’re health comes first.” Daniel said and everyone nodded.

Remington sighed. “Ok, that sounds good. I’ll do my best to recover.”

“Maybe Luis can make you some chicken noodle soup.” Emerson chuckled.

They all packed up their equipment into the bus and Sebastian and Emerson helped Remington get to his bunk. They brought him some food and water and sternly directed that he stay in bed. Remington had no objection, he was tired and his head was full.

While the others went to the front lounge, Emerson stayed behind to talk to Remington. “I’m sure this isn’t a surprise,” Emerson said, “but can you tell me about your hallucinations? Only if you’re okay with it, of course.”

Remington nodded and sat a bit. “It was weird... the audience wasn’t our audience. They were... punks. From the late seventies if I had to guess. And the music we were playing just felt wrong. Like it wasn’t my music. I was so confused. I don’t think I even recognized you guys. The last thing I remember was falling to the ground.” 

Emerson nodded, taking a moment to process everything. “That is strange.” He said, he didn’t know what else he could say. “Take it easy Rem, get some sleep.” Remington nodded and rolled onto his stomach, exhausted.

Emerson walked out of the bunk area. Everyone was sitting on the couches watching some movie or scrolling on their phones. Emerson poked Sebastian. “Come here, I’ve got to tell you something completely insane.”


	2. But No One Remembers His Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emerson is convincing, Sebastian is worried

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support y’all! I’m glad you like it so far. I have the story all planned out and and hoping to get it out before @longlivevicious’s contest is over but i’ve got a pretty stressful week coming up. I’ll see what I can do.
> 
> Likes and comments are always appreciated!!

“I’ve got to tell you something completely insane” isn’t the best thing to lead with when everyone is on edge about Remington’s illness, but it’s what Emerson says anyway. Sebastian immediately shot up, panicked and followed Emerson as he lead him past the bunk area and into the back lounge. 

“So what is it? Is Remington alright?” Sebastian spouted quickly. Emerson waved him off dismissively.

“Of course he’s fine. Well, at least I think.” He said. Sebastian’s panicked look turned into annoyance.

“So? What’s so important than?” He asked. Emerson smirked excitedly.

“Well, first I’d like to say I know I say a lot of crazy things but this just might be the craziest.” He paused a moment for dramatic effect. Sebastian wasn’t really buying it but Emerson continued anyway. “I had my suspicions but now I think it’s basically confirmed. Remington is Sid Vicious reincarnated.”

Sebastian stared blankly at his brother. “You’re right, that is the craziest thing you’ve ever said.” He said sully. “How does that even make sense? I mean I guess they look kinda similar but what else is there?” 

“So much!” Emerson exclaimed. “I could go into all the niche details, but why bother? There was so much evidence from tonight! I just talked to Rem and he said that on stage our music didn’t feel like his. And he said he saw the crowd as a bunch of punks, which is exactly what kind of crowd the Pistols would have! And what did he say to you right before he passed out?” 

Sebastian thought for a moment, trying to process everything that was happening. “Johnny?” He said.

“Precisely! Like Johnny Rotten!” Emerson explained excitedly. 

“Well, that doesn’t make sense.” Sebastian interjected. “I don’t look anything like Johnny Rotten.”

Emerson wasn’t jaded. “Well duh. He was probably just confused by all the memories coming back.” He looked expectantly at his brother. Sebastian honestly didn’t have any more counter arguments, now he was just confused. And concerned.

“Ok, fine. Let’s say you’re right.” He said. “Why tonight of all nights then?”

Emerson hadn’t thought of that. He took a moment to think about everything that had lead up to the show. “Well, you and Remington have been planning the next music video together, right?” Sebastian nodded. They had felt a little weird mostly leaving Emerson out of the process, but he claimed he was focusing a lot on his art and merch designs. “You listen to a lot of classic english rock n’ roll, which is probably something that inspired Sid. Maybe the combination of that, and Remington being more tired than usual made him more vulnerable to his past memories?”

“I... I guess that makes sense.” Sebastian muttered. He was much more skeptical about spiritual things than his brothers, but the more they talked about it the more it started to make sense. “What do we do about it then? Should we tell him?”

Emerson frowned a bit. “I don’t know if that would be a good idea. If we just drop it on him while he’s vulnerable, he might have another break down. It’s probably best to wait.” 

Sebastian nodded. “You’re probably right. But if it’s getting more popular with the fans, he might find out by himself.”

“We’re going to have to hope that won’t happen.” Emerson said simply. They decided they were done for the night and headed to their bunks. There were still so many pestering thoughts swirling their brains but lucky, exhaustion overtook them and they fell asleep peacefully.


	3. Life is but a Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note- I’m not saying Monica is Nancy, I just imagine Remi would connect the two.
> 
> Also I’ve realized that I’m not really keeping up with any coherent, real-life time line, but it’s supposed to be 2019. 
> 
> Also also, sorry for not updating. I had a super stressful thing and it kinda made me forget this story existed. But here it is. I’ve got it planned out and ready to be finished next chapter.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and as always, kudos and comments mean the world to me.

Remington slept through most of the next day. He woke up a few times to use the restroom, eat and chat a bit with the other people on the bus. By the end of the day he swore he was all better and pleaded to go out with his friends the next day. Being the typical older brother, Sebastian immediately said no. “If you want to preform on Saturday you’ll stay put. We can’t have you dying on us,” He said jokingly. Remington sighed dramatically and flopped back into his bed.

“Don’t worry Rem, we’ll be back before you know it,” Luis said, smiling comfortably at him. He grumbled but did feel a little better. He knew it was for the best.

The others left, promising to be back within a couple hours. Remington tried to find a movie to watch but couldn’t find anything that interested him. He finally gave up and decided to just call Monica. They chatted while Remington had Monica on speaker and he scrolled through the bands tag on instagram, occasionally liking posts.

“Oh my god, this ones crazy!” He laughed wildly. He did his best to describe the bizarre, distorted edit someone had made of him.

“Wow, your fans are really something,” Monica giggled. Remington grinned.

“Yeah.” He scrolled down some more until he found something else that caught his eye. “Oh man, this ones kinda long,” he mumbled. It was a black and white picture of him but with a lot of text under it. And it was saying... He was shocked silent as he investigated the account further. Pictures cropped together, lyrics, pictures of him and....

He started shaking. His head hurt and he was seeing things again. Hearing things, remembering things. Tears involuntarily fell from his eyes. “Fuck no, oh fuck. I-“ He was mumbling frantically to himself.

“Remington? Remington, what’s going on?” Monica asked panicked. 

Nancy.

“Oh holy shit. I’m- I’m so sorry. I miss you so much. I wish- fuck, I wish I could see you again. I’m so sorry,” He rambled some more. 

“Remi, honey, it’s ok. Sit down, get some water. Please, what’s going on?” Monica said, trying her best to stay calm and comfort Remington.

“Okay, okay. I’ll... I’ll call you back. I gotta....I’m so so sorry. I love you.” He rambled some more before hanging up and stumbling to the buses bathroom. He spat in the sink some but luckily didn’t vomit. He slowly stared at his reflection and felt so bizarre. It was him but also it wasn’t.

“Okay, okay...” He coughed and stumbled to the back lounge. He remembered Daniel practicing back there earlier and sure enough, his bass was still there on the couch. Remington still shook as he grabbed it by the neck. He only had to play a few chords before he felt nauseous again and had to stop himself from throwing the thing.

He sunk to the floor and wrapped his arms around himself. He tried to close his eyes but it just made him see more. So he sat, staring off into space and trying to comprehend his own reality.

****************

Emerson had barely taken a bite into his sandwich before his phone started buzzing. He glanced at it puzzled. It was Monica of all people. He answered it and didn’t have much time before Monica started talking.

“Please Emerson, I was just on the phone with Remington and... I don’t know what happened but he really freaked out. I know he’s been sick but this was scary. He won’t answer my calls.” She rambled out all at once.

“Okay, don’t worry, we’re on it. I’m heading back to the bus right now, I’ll call you back as soon as I can.” He said, already standing up and grabbing his sandwich.

“Thank you so much. Please take care of him.” She said desperately.

“I will, I promise.” Emerson said earnestly before hanging up and speed-walking straight out of the restaurant, leaving the others confused. Nonetheless, they all looked at each other than followed behind him.


	4. My Black Soul Turns to White

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so sorry for taking an eternity to update. Like most things I write, I grew to hate it. But, I decided I didn’t want to leave it unfinished. Thank you for anyone who supported this, I hope you enjoy the ending. Another thanks to Ash for starting this badass theory

Emerson reached the bus first, with his friends running behind him. He quickly opened the door and rushed inside. “Remington?” He stormed through the bunk area until he saw his brother curled up on the floor of the back lounge with tears in his eyes. Emerson froze and kneeled down to Remington level, resting his hand on his shoulder.

Just then, the others finally made it to the room and halted at the entrance. Sebastian whispered something to his friends before they nodded and walked away. He also lowered himself down with his brothers. “Hey, Rem,” he started quietly, “you freaked us out there for a second. What happened?”

“I think I realized something that’s just... it’s crazy. And you might think I’m loosing it but I think it’s the truth.” He explained. Emerson and Sebastian glanced at each other for a moment before turning back to their brother.

“Go ahead. Our lives are pretty crazy anyway, one more thing is nothing.” Emerson said and smiled light-heartedly. Remington looked back at him before taking a deep breath. 

“I’m... I’m Sid Vicious. Or, I was? Honestly, I’m still so confused.” He said. “I just remember these things that have never happened to me. And I guess I always felt a connection to Sid’s looks and music but it just feels deeper.” 

Emerson nodded. “Of course we believe you.” He said instantly. “And we’ll do everything we can to make things easier for you. We don’t have to tell anyone else if you don’t want to, but we’re here to help you with whatever you need.” 

Remington smiled and sighed, still shaking. “Thank you. It’s tough but now that I’ve accepted it, I think I feel better. Maybe I’ll be able to handle it better now.” 

Sebastian stood and then reached a hand out to help his brother up. Remington swayed a bit but steadied himself on Sebastian. “We’ll figure it out. But for now, you should take it easy.” He said, “Come on, I’m sure the guys are worried sick. Monica too.”

“Oh fuck, I hope she’s alright...” Remington muttered.

******************

It was Saturday night. Remington was finally feeling better. He was standing in the wings of the stage, pumping himself up for the show. He could hear the fans talking amongst themselves in the crowd. 

“You ready, Vicious?” Sebastian asked jovially, starling his brother for a moment. He didn’t have time to answer before the house lights dimmed and the crowd screamed. His band mates walked out on stage first. He took one more deep breath before walking out himself.

He felt his vision shift and for a moment he was scared he would pass out again. But he quickly regained control of himself and launched himself into their first song. 

The show went smoothly, Remington was able to keep up his energy the whole time. After the show, they meet fans and a lot of them told him to take care of himself and that they had been worried. He was overjoyed to have such caring people support him.

After they had said goodnight to the last fans, they loaded up their instruments into the back and finally crashed in various places around the bus . “So, how’d you feel tonight?” Dan asked Remington from the floor. He chose not to tell the touring members yet but they still cared about his health and watched out for him on stage.

“Better, definitely better. It shouldn’t be a problem anymore.” Remington said, full of relief. Dan smiled and patted Remingtons leg. 

“That’s great man. I’m happy for you.” Daniel stood and groaned before stumbling towards his bunk for the night. Remington sighed tiredly and walked to his own bunk. He slid in the small space and rapped himself in his blankets. 

He felt blessed to have such a supportive family around him. He knew he would start having to make peace with the Sid part of him, but that was okay. Hell, in his profession, that would be useful. But for now, Remington drifted to sleep, knowing that he understood himself better and that life would be okay.


End file.
